I didn’t answer the call immediately. Leyao, obviously bored, came over curiously and looked at the phone in my hand, asking, “Whose call is it? What’s making you so hesitant?”
I glanced at her but didn’t respond. I walked a few steps forward and leaned comfortably against the car Leyao had driven over in, before finally answering the call, “Hello, I’m Zhaoyang.”
On the other end, Jian Wei paused for a moment, “…I know it’s you, Zhaoyang.”
“Oh, then let’s get to the point.”
“Didn’t you go back to Suzhou tonight?”
“I’m in Beijing.”
Jian Wei chuckled slightly, “That’s fine too. It’s tiring traveling back and forth like that. You might as well relax in Beijing for a bit.”
I simply responded with a “Hmm” and didn’t speak further. Since she had initiated the call, she would bring up whatever matter she had. I just needed to stay calm and wait.
Unexpectedly, Jian Wei also remained silent on the other end. I could hear the wind blowing in Suzhou mingling with the wind around me, gradually intensifying. My heart began to race, and I felt a chill, hastily tightening my coat around me.
With nothing better to do on this quiet night, Leyao turned nosy and bored. She came closer to me, attempting to eavesdrop on the conversation. Her hair was blown by the wind into my mouth and stuck to my lips, making me feel itchy and uncomfortable.
I pushed Leyao away and said, “Don’t mess around, okay?”
“Who made you act like you’re working for the secret service? I just wanted to hear who you’re talking to on the phone.”
Jian Wei, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up, asking, “Zhaoyang, am I interrupting you?”
“No… If you have something to say, just go ahead.”
“It’s nothing serious. It’s hard to explain big things over the phone. We can talk when you come back.” After saying this, Jian Wei hung up. I was caught off guard and only ended the call after the dial tone had repeated several times.
Leyao, still curious, once again displayed her dramatic flair, blinking her big, innocent eyes and asking, “Zhaoyang Gege, who was that older sister you were having a silent conversation with? She seemed pretty upset. She even hung up on you!”
“Your tone makes me really uncomfortable, you know that?”
“How come? You know what? I’m only 26, while you and those older sisters are already 27. I’m younger, so of course I should speak in this sweet, delicate way!”
Her innocent expression left me speechless for a long time before I finally said, “Ever since the Gold Partner supplements sold out, your condition has been getting worse and worse… I’m really worried about you.”
In our years of verbal sparring, Leyao had developed a thick skin and remained unfazed. She continued blinking her eyes and said, “I’m just 26, you know. 2 plus 6 equals 8, so I’m basically just a little Lolita!”
“God, you’re really driving me crazy, you know that?”
Leyao’s expression immediately turned serious. She stared at me coldly and said in a low voice, “Beast, are you thinking of doing something to me again?… Well then, since it’s a dark and windy night with no road ahead and no way back, I’m too tired to resist anyway!”
I was speechless…
That night, of course, I didn’t sleep with Leyao. We simply had dinner together and then returned to our respective hotels. According to the map, our hotels were separated by several blocks. This distance finally allowed me to feel a sense of peace… Yes, every time I was with Leyao, I longed for some peace and quiet, but if I really didn’t see her for a few months, I would feel my life was too quiet… It seems time really leaves its mark on people, and Leyao is one of those marks on me. If I wanted to erase her completely, it might take even more time!
The next morning, I took a flight back to Shanghai. Instead of going directly to Suzhou, I first visited Xitang. I knew the upcoming days would be filled with choices, so I wanted to visit the inn I had painstakingly built in the past. I still believed that my original dreams were preserved there. I couldn’t forget the image of myself singing under the willow tree in front of the inn with a guitar in hand. Every time a tourist stayed at the inn because of my singing, I felt happy for a while. Therefore, I believed that all my entrepreneurial emotions were hidden in that nameless inn.
The inn still looked the same as before, but the gamer kid who used to be there was gone. A few weeks before the establishment of Luku Company, he suddenly decided to pursue further studies abroad. I gave him a substantial amount of money from the investment funds provided by Jian Wei. In fact, I knew that his decision to study abroad was related to Jian Wei. She didn’t want a fresh college graduate with no social experience to get involved in the formal Luku Company, so she took the initiative to talk to him and offered guidance for his future, which eventually led the kid to decide to study abroad.
I supported this decision because the kid lacked life experience and needed to hone and enrich himself. He wasn’t yet ready to handle the complexities of the business world. It was better for him to go abroad and develop himself. I was also looking forward to seeing a positive transformation in him when he returned.
When I entered the inn, the new staff didn’t recognize me and asked what kind of room I needed. I shook my head and told her I just wanted to sit on the sofa in the lobby for a while. Although she found me a bit strange, she still agreed to my request.
I sat in the inn for an hour and left just before lunchtime. Then I went to the bar “I’m Waiting for You in Xitang” to meet my good friend Afeng. I had heard that the bar’s business had been doing well lately, but the bar itself remained unchanged, not expanding despite increased demand.
I pushed the door open and walked in. Afeng was wiping his guitar. When he saw me, he stopped what he was doing in disbelief and said, “What have you been up to lately? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you in Xitang.”
“Just busy with random stuff.”
Afeng brought me a chair and laughed, “You say that, but what about us who are genuinely busy with random stuff? How are we supposed to feel?” He then took out two bottles of beer from behind the counter and handed one to me.
I accepted the beer and said with a sense of nostalgia, “Actually, I really envy your current lifestyle. It’s not only free but also doing what you love… As for me, I feel a bit lost.”
“Your company is doing so well. Where does this sense of losing direction come from?”
“There’s no need to talk about it. I just miss the feeling when I first came to Xitang. Even though I was just idling away my days, I felt clear-minded and had aspirations!”
Afeng smiled and clinked his beer bottle with mine. Actually, he probably understood me quite well because he himself was also pursuing his passion in his career. However, my passion had gradually disappeared amid the rapid development of Luku. More importantly, everything I currently had was given to me by a woman. Thinking about it, I felt a deep sense of failure.
After finishing half a bottle of beer, Afeng brought up a topic and asked me, “Where’s your girlfriend? Didn’t she come with you to Xitang to relax this time?”
I shook my head.
He said with slight regret, “Tonight, we have a themed event at the bar that you’ve always been involved in organizing. The idea came from the song she sang at our bar last time. It would be great if she could come and join us. But I know she’s busy with a lot of things, so I’m not expecting much.”
I recalled that a long time ago, Mi Cai had indeed sung the song “You’ve Always Been Playing” by Cheer Chen at Afeng’s bar. Thinking further, she was about to go to the U.S. to prepare for Zhuomei’s final push for its IPO. It would be great if she could come to Xitang to relax before leaving, provided she had finished her business in Wuxi.
I took out my phone and immediately dialed Mi Cai’s number. After a short while, she answered. She seemed to be in a good mood and asked me lightly, “Did you miss me?”
“Yeah, where are you now?”
“I’m on my way back to Suzhou… Where are you? Have you come back from Beijing?”
“Uh-huh, but I’m in Xitang now… If you’re free this afternoon, why don’t you come here too?”
Mi Cai was somewhat surprised that I was in Xitang. She paused briefly before saying, “I’m with Ms. An right now, and she specifically asked you to host her at a banquet in Suzhou today.”
“That red-dressed girl! How did you two end up together?”
“We met at the government’s investment promotion conference in Wuxi.”
“That’s quite a coincidence. Why don’t you invite her to Xitang too? After all, it’s the same wherever we have dinner!”
“Okay, I’ll ask her and call you back.”
“Alright, I’ll wait for your call.”
Before hanging up, Mi Cai said again, “Can’t you stop calling her ‘that red-dressed woman’ or ‘that red-dressed girl’? You two are quite familiar with each other now.”
“Naturally,” I replied, “Who asked her to hide her name for so long? I’ve just gotten used to it…”
Mi Cai gave a helpless smile. Being naturally calm, she didn’t argue with me and promptly ended the call.
A short while later, Mi Cai sent me a voice message confirming that she and the red-dressed woman would arrive in Xitang before evening. This somewhat eased the heavy feeling I had been carrying due to the upcoming decisions. However, I wasn’t quite sure how Mi Cai, as my girlfriend, would react to my desire to leave Luku Company.
Hearing that the red-dressed woman would also come to Xitang, Afeng’s whole demeanor changed. I directly asked him if he liked the red-dressed woman. He said no, that he simply admired her. After all, he and that aloof and somewhat tragic woman belonged to different worlds.
Of course, I believed Afeng. In fact, I also greatly admired that woman. She seemed to possess a legendary quality of being indifferent to the world, reserving all her passion for just one person.
Before long, it was time for lunch. Afeng told me that my other good friend Zhou Zhaokun also happened to be on vacation in Xitang. I immediately suggested we invite him to have some drinks together. Besides catching up, I also wanted to take this opportunity to find out whether he had paid the huge breach of contract fee on behalf of Leyao when she left the entertainment industry. It seemed that among the people who had contact with Leyao, there was no one else with the capability to do so!
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage